He weighs in at 326 pounds.
Oh, boy! On May 12 at 6:30 a.m., 29-year-old Asian elephant Shanti gave birth to a 326-pound male calf. Immediately following his birth, the elephant team and vet staff saw that he was hemorrhaging severely from his umbilicus. pic.twitter.com/hQqx5MNAp8
— Houston Zoo (@houstonzoo) May 13, 2020
But Nelson's birth wasn't an easy one. Nelson had a torn vessel in his umbilical cord and was bleeding. He was rushed into surgery to stop the bleeding and close a hole in his stomach, KHOU reported.
Shortly after he was walking around the enclosure and nursing from his mom Shanti.
But Nelson won't be joining his brothers, sisters and the rest of the heard any time soon. Zoo officials are keeping an eye on Nelson and Shanti as they bond and to make sure he's fully recovered.
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